Empire Marketing Board
Promoted intra-Empire trade through research and advertising.
The Empire Marketing Board was created in May 1926 by Colonial Secretary Leo Amery. Its goal was to encourage trade within the Empire and convince shoppers to "Buy Empire." The board served as an alternative to tariff reform and protectionist policies, which is why it was shut down in 1933 when imperial preference replaced free trade. Over its short life, the EMB failed to increase Britain’s imports of goods from the Empire.
Amery served as the board’s first chairman, with Sir Stephen George Tallents as secretary, Edward Mayow Hastings Lloyd as assistant secretary, and Walter Elliot leading the research committee. The EMB had three main objectives: backing scientific research, promoting economic analysis, and publicizing Empire trade. The idea for the board came from the Imperial Economic Committee in 1925, which included representatives from Britain and the Dominions. That committee recommended spending £1 million each year through an executive commission to create a national push for more Empire buying. The EMB used its budget on research and advertising, aiming to boost trade by promoting Dominion and British goods while improving their production to compete better with foreign products. The board’s formal goals were laid out in its first annual report, where Tallents wrote that stimulating Empire marketing ultimately depended on private enterprise, but the board’s best service was to offer producers scientific and economic resources—helping with planting, harvesting, grading, packing, transport, and even shop displays to catch a housewife’s eye.
Scientific research took up a large share of the EMB’s work and funds. It supported 126 agricultural and medical research projects and issued many Intelligence Notes, pamphlets, and surveys. In 1931, Elliot detailed the research programs, noting grants of £189,000 for central institutions like Cambridge University and the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad, £65,000 for animal health studies at Onderstepoort Station in Pretoria, £58,000 for investigating pasture deficiencies at the Rowett Institute in Aberdeen, and £160,000 for the Low Temperature Research Station at Cambridge and its Cold Store at East Malling in Kent. This research mandate, combined with an aggressive advertising campaign, ran until 1933. The EMB also linked buyers with producers, analyzed markets, and hired staff from media
- formed
- May 1926
- abolished
- September 1933
- first_chairman
- Leo Amery
- secretary
- Sir Stephen George Tallents
- field
- Trade promotion, scientific research, advertising
- known_for
- Poster campaigns, film unit led by John Grierson, 'Buy Empire' movement
Lore & Background
The EMB had three principal aims: to support scientific research, promote economic analysis, and publicize Empire trade. Scientific research took up a large proportion of its work and budget, assisting 126 agricultural and medical research projects and issuing many Intelligence Notes, pamphlets, and surveys. Grants included £189,000 for central institutions such as Cambridge University and the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, £65,000 for animal health at Onderstepoort Station, £58,000 for pasture research at the Rowett Institute, and £160,000 for the Low Temperature Research Station at Cambridge.
The EMB organized poster campaigns, exhibitions, 'Empire Shopping Weeks', lectures, radio talks, and a film unit led by John Grierson, which produced around 100 films including 'Drifters', 'The Song of Ceylon', and 'Industrial Britain'. Posters were displayed in over 1,700 sites across 450 British cities and towns, using sequential storytelling and tailored messaging for men and women. Despite these efforts, colonial governments were reluctant to join, and New Zealand reported the posters were 'ineffective as sellers of produce'.
Reader's Guide
The Empire Marketing Board represents a notable attempt by the British government to foster imperial economic unity through non-tariff means, substituting for protectionist legislation. Its significance lies in its innovative use of modern advertising and film techniques—including the pioneering documentary work of John Grierson—to shape consumer behavior and imperial identity. However, its effectiveness was limited: it failed to increase Britain's imports from the Empire, and Dominion governments criticized its propaganda as politically motivated rather than commercially useful. The EMB's legacy endures through its poster collections held at institutions such as the Manchester Art Gallery and the National Archives of Canada, and its film unit, which later became the Crown Film Unit. The board's closure in 1933 coincided with the shift to imperial preference, marking the end of a state-led publicity campaign for empire trade.
Did You Know?
- The EMB's film unit, led by John Grierson, produced around 100 films including 'Drifters' and 'The Song of Ceylon'.
- The EMB used a series of five posters in a sequence, like a cartoon strip, displayed in over 1,700 sites across 450 British cities and towns.
- The government of New Zealand reported that the EMB's poster series were 'ineffective as sellers of produce'.
- None of the 'empire shops' proposed in the 1920s ever opened.
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